At Barcelona today, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore announced updates coming this spring to both Windows and Windows Phone, confirming widely-leaked plans for the operating systems.

The Windows update, believed to be called simply Update 1, will include a number of small user interface tweaks to make the operating system more comfortable for mouse and keyboard users, especially on the Metro side. Belfiore also promised some improved enterprise capabilities, such as greater compatibility in Internet Explorer 11 for legacy business Web apps, and richer device management.

The Windows Phone update that was discussed was not the major Windows Phone 8.1 release that's expected later this summer. Rather, it's a smaller update designed to make Windows Phone more attractive to OEMs, especially those focusing on emerging markets. It will introduce support for dual-SIM phones, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 200 and 400 series chipsets, and devices which use on-screen buttons instead of Windows Phone's current trio of front-facing hardware keys.

This last feature is particularly significant since it means that, in principle, OEMs will be able to build phones with no on-device operating system branding and ship those devices either with Android or Windows Phone. It also means that Windows Phone will run on Qualcomm's reference hardware platform. As a result, it should be much cheaper, easier, and quicker for OEMs to add Windows Phone devices to their portfolio.

We can also expect to see more Windows Phone devices in the future. Microsoft announced that nine new hardware companies would be joining Nokia, Samsung, HTC, and Huawei to make Windows Phones. In actual fact, what Microsoft really announced was seven new partners, and one old one. The new companies are Foxconn, Gionee, JSR, Karbonn, Lava (Xolo), Lenovo, and Longcheer. The old ones are ZTE and LG. LG made a couple of first generation Windows Phone 7 handsets before dropping out of the Windows Phone market, and ZTE launched a single second generation Windows Phone 7 handset in 2012.